We'll start with a crash course in orbital mechanics: How can you reach an object which is flying just in front of you? How can you efficiently change orbits? How do swing-by maneuvers work? Why is the sun so hard to reach, even though the sun exerts an enormous pull?

Then we'll talk about low-energy transfers, a new kind of trajectory design pioneered by Edward Belbruno which allows for vastly reduced energy expenditure, making it possible to reach almost any point in the solar system with reasonable effort. These trajectories employ ideas from chaos theory. The Hiten spacecraft, the first Japanese lunar probe, was saved thanks to those kinds of trajectories. Before you get too excited please be warned that there is a catch: The price for the low energy usage is that the travel time is increased (for instance from days to months).

Please note that the talk starts at 14:00 and not as 13:45 as previously announced.